Photo courtesy of Jakiya Brown Traveling full time can be challenging, but if you use your network to your advantage it can lessen the stress of planning, accommodations, and endless research. Here are a few tips on how to make who you know take you where you want to go! Don’t be scared to meet strangers. I have met countless of my Instagram followers/friends all over the world. I have even stayed with a few of them as housing accommodations. Building relationships over social media is no different than “real life”. Sure it may seem weird at first but be open to the idea of “virtual friendship.” In fact, most of the people in our social bubble already have similar goals and more in common than the people we see daily. Keep your network updated frequently. Make a habit of reaching out and keeping your network informed of where you are, where you are looking to go next etc. That way when it’s time for you to reach out it doesn’t seem so random or like you are asking for something out of nowhere. Never burn bridges. This one is self explanatory. You never know what connections will be beneficial […]
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Photographed by Derick Marquez For the past year I have all too often dreamt of the moment where I would walk right up to my boss and nonchalantly say, “Hey, I quit.” Who knew this past October 2016 I’d actually do just that. My name is Jakiya Brown, or as you might know me, @travelingfro. Some would say, “I’m living the dream,” traveling the world after making an exit stage left from my 9-9 #corporatelife; but that didn’t come easy. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy my job, but somewhere along the way (3 years to be precise) I discovered my passion. I was working for over 6 years in the beauty industry, developing marketing and advertising campaigns for some of the biggest brands in beauty. But I came to a point where I realized, “I don’t want to do this anymore…and that’s ok.” I wanted more flexibility and ownership of my time. It was after my first trip to Africa on a 1 month volunteer assignment that I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Travel. And I mean real travel, NOT “vacationing.” I didn’t want to do it for the selfies, tourist sights, or the Instagram stuntin’; although that’s fun too. I wanted to genuinely travel; experience new cultures, immerse […]
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